By You Soo-sun
Korean flights have been sent to Bali, Thursday, to bring back hundreds of Korean tourists stranded on the Indonesian island in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
More than 700 Korean tourists have been stranded there after Mount Agung spewed smoke and ash resulting in hundreds of flights having to be grounded and airports to be shut down for more than two days. Korean Air announced it sent a
plane to the island capable of carrying 276 passengers. It took off from Incheon International Airport for Bali at 5:51 a.m. It will bring some of the stranded tourists back to Incheon Thursday night.
Asiana Airlines also scheduled an extra flight, which departed from Incheon International Airport at 3 p.m. The plane is scheduled to arrive at Juanda International Airport in the nearby city of Surabaya at 8:40 p.m. and is expected to return here early Friday morning.
It will bring back 273 Korean passengers who have been moved to the airport in Surabaya via a bus operated by the Korean Embassy in Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The flight is to be only used to evacuate South Korean nationals in cases of natural disasters, as part of a previous agreement between the airline and the foreign affairs ministry.
Bali's airport was closed from early Monday until Wednesday afternoon, stranding 120,000 tourists and causing residents to flee to evacuation centers.
But a change in wind direction blew the ash and smoke away from the airport, allowing it to reopen partially on Thursday for travelers to fly out.
Korean flights have been sent to Bali, Thursday, to bring back hundreds of Korean tourists stranded on the Indonesian island in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
More than 700 Korean tourists have been stranded there after Mount Agung spewed smoke and ash resulting in hundreds of flights having to be grounded and airports to be shut down for more than two days. Korean Air announced it sent a
plane to the island capable of carrying 276 passengers. It took off from Incheon International Airport for Bali at 5:51 a.m. It will bring some of the stranded tourists back to Incheon Thursday night.
Asiana Airlines also scheduled an extra flight, which departed from Incheon International Airport at 3 p.m. The plane is scheduled to arrive at Juanda International Airport in the nearby city of Surabaya at 8:40 p.m. and is expected to return here early Friday morning.
It will bring back 273 Korean passengers who have been moved to the airport in Surabaya via a bus operated by the Korean Embassy in Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The flight is to be only used to evacuate South Korean nationals in cases of natural disasters, as part of a previous agreement between the airline and the foreign affairs ministry.
Bali's airport was closed from early Monday until Wednesday afternoon, stranding 120,000 tourists and causing residents to flee to evacuation centers.
But a change in wind direction blew the ash and smoke away from the airport, allowing it to reopen partially on Thursday for travelers to fly out.
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